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Virtual Information Session about the Test of Oral Proficiency in the Second Official Language
Video Segment 2 of 3
Slide 9:
The test takes place in a welcoming, positive, and professional atmosphere. Assessors do their best to put the candidate at ease in order to elicit his or her best performance.Before the test, candidates complete a bilingual questionnaire indicating if they are studying, working, or involved in other activities. The physical arrangement of the test rooms has changed. The candidate and Assessor no longer sit next to a coffee table.
They are now seated across from each other at a desk with a computer. The Assessor uses the computer during the test. The Assessor and the candidate have paper and pencils to take notes during the test. The candidate’s notes are shredded after the test. The Assessor does not use the notes for their assessment. Assessment is based solely on the candidate’s linguistic performance.
Slide 10:We’ll now talk briefly about the Second Language Assessors. They are first selected based on their education, and then they must undergo various tests that evaluate their interpersonal and communication skills.
They must also succeed at an intensive training program, and can then be certified by the Personnel Psychology Centre as Second Language Assessors. The Quality Control Team monitors all Assessors to ensure that all tests are administered in a standard way, and that all linguistic performances are assessed in a standard way. All Assessors participate in developmental workshops, and other activities, in order to ensure consistency and reliability of ratings.
Slide 11:The communicative language activities assessed in the Test of Oral Proficiency are: - speaking, which refers to the times when candidates talk about specific topics, and express themselves for an extended period; -oral interaction, which refers to a question and answer exchange between the candidate and the Assessor; and - comprehension, which refers to understanding both the Assessor's questions and audio-recordings.
Slide 12:We’ll now give you an overview of the global test structure before we take a closer look at the different parts of the test.The test consists of four parts. The level of difficulty for the communicative tasks increases with each part of the test. In order to guide the candidates, the Assessor will let them know when they are moving from one part of the test to the next one.
Based on the candidate’s linguistic performance, the Assessor will decide during the test if 2, 3, or all 4 parts of the test should be administered. The Assessor will give candidates every opportunity to demonstrate their maximum proficiency level, without pushing them unnecessarily beyond their abilities. For example, the Assessor won’t ask a candidate demonstrating beginner level proficiency to accomplish advanced level tasks.The number of parts that are administered during a test is based on a candidate’s linguistic performance.
Slide 13:We will now look at Part 1 of the test. Before beginning the test, candidates fill out a questionnaire indicating whether they are working, studying, or involved in other activities. In the first part of the test, the Assessor will ask simple questions about familiar topics related to work, study, or other activities, based on the information that the candidate provided in the questionnaire.
Questions are concrete and familiar. For example, questions concerning the candidate’s team or work environment. This part usually takes from 2 to 6 minutes to complete.
Slide 14:In Part 2 of the test, the candidate is asked to listen to recordings of two short voice mail messages, and two short work-related conversations. The recordings focus on concrete matters. They consist of one person calling to report a work-related problem.
For example, someone wanting material ordered or repaired. The Assessor tells the candidate what to listen for before the recording is played. That is: the purpose of the call, and what help is asked for or offered. The Assessor plays each recording twice.
The candidate may take notes when listening to the recordings. After each recording, the candidate will answer questions related to the content of that recording. This part takes about 7 minutes to complete.
Slide 15:Part 3 consists of a short talk, followed by questions. The Assessor presents three topics to the candidate and the candidate is then given time to choose a topic for the talk. Once the candidate has chosen a topic, the Assessor offers suggestions for what the candidate might wish to include in the talk. The candidate is then given a minute and a half to prepare for the talk, and may make notes during this time. The candidate talks for two to three minutes on their chosen topic, and then answers questions asked by the Assessor, which are related to this topic.
Only the candidate’s linguistic performance is assessed. The candidate does not have to cover specific content or follow a specific structure during the talk.The proposed topics in part 3 usually deal with a candidate’s past work experience or a work experience he or she would like to have in the future.
This part takes 10 to 12 minutes to complete.
Slide 16:In Part 4, the candidate is asked to listen to a 2-minute recording of a discussion between a manager and an employee who are at a meeting. The manager and the employee discuss a work-related issue and express their points of view. Before the recording is played, the Assessor lets the candidate know what to listen for. The Assessor plays the recording two times, and the candidate may take notes during this time.
After listening, the candidate is asked to summarize the recording, as if doing so for a colleague who was not able to attend the meeting. This is followed by questions related to the content the recording. Only the candidate’s linguistic performance is assessed. The candidate is not required to follow a particular structure when summarizing the recording, and is not expected to remember all of the details on the recording.
Part 3 takes 11 to 13 minutes to complete.
Slide 17:Now that we have presented the structure and content of the test, we will now look at rating.
The Assessor assesses a candidate’s linguistic performance during the test to determine how many parts of the test to administer, and how long each of these parts should last. The Assessor also assesses a candidate’s linguistic performance after the test using predetermined global and analytical evaluation criteria. The evaluation criteria describe the standards for levels A, B, and C, as well as for X and Exemption.
These standards have not changed: the norms have remained the same. The Personnel Psychology Centre has used the CEFR in order to develop new assessment tools.
